Bahçeli's Cyprus Peace Operation message: 'The will that will determine the direction of the Turkish Cypriots is not in Brussels'

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli issued a written statement on the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. Stating that he commemorates the martyrs of the operation with mercy and gratitude, and the veterans with appreciation and respect, Bahçeli emphasized that July 20, 1974, was a historic turning point where the Republic of Türkiye showed its power to the whole world against those who mistook the Turkish nation's desire for peace for submission.

Bahçeli stated that the plans aimed at removing Turkish Cypriots from their homes and annexing the island to Greece were thwarted by the Cyprus Peace Operation, saying, "On that day, the Turkish soldier confined the centuries-old annexation obsession of the Greek-Cypriot mentality to the dark pages of history; he buried the expired dream of Enosis and its expansionist ambitions in the waters of the Mediterranean."

"CYPRUS IS A TURKISH HOMELAND MADE A HOMELAND WITH THE BLOOD OF MARTYRS"

Drawing attention to the strategic and national importance of Cyprus for Türkiye and the Turkish nation, Bahçeli noted the following:

"Cyprus is the security line of Anatolia in the south, the key point of our national rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, a Turkish homeland made a homeland with the blood of martyrs, a legacy of the past, and the continuity of our national existence. Just as the fates of Ankara and Nicosia cannot be separated, the security of the Turkish Cypriot and the public order of the Republic of Türkiye, the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the reputation of the Turkish nation in the Mediterranean cannot be torn apart from each other."

Emphasizing that Turkish Cypriots are the original owners of the island, Bahçeli stated that the Turkish presence took root on the island with the conquest of Famagusta in 1571. Bahçeli assessed, "The Turkish Cypriot is a sovereign people with the will to determine their own future, an inseparable and indispensable part of the great Turkish nation."

"TMT KEPT THE PASSION FOR INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM ALIVE IN HEARTS"

Expressing that Turkish Cypriots suffered great pain for many years in the face of Greek-Cypriot attacks, Bahçeli said, "In the years when Hellenic expansionism targeted the lives, property, honor, and national identity of the Turkish Cypriot; villages were besieged, hearths were sought to be extinguished, civilians were targeted regardless of whether they were women or children, and the Turkish nation was subjected to genocide on the island."

Stating that the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) was born under these conditions, Bahçeli continued his statement as follows:

"The Turkish Resistance Organization, born out of such a dire situation, became a national resistance headquarters that created a common ideal from a scattered national will, combined this ideal with military discipline, prevented the Turkish nation on the island from being lost in the corridors of despair, and kept the passion for independence and freedom alive in hearts through struggle."

"THE CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION IS A STEEL FIST BROUGHT DOWN ON THE HEART OF NICOSIA"

Bahçeli described the Cyprus Peace Operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces as "a steel fist brought down by the Republic of Türkiye on the heart of Nicosia against the invading mentality that aimed to annihilate the Turkish Cypriot, annex the island, deny the Turkish presence, and revive Greek-Cypriot domination."

Pointing out that the operation was carried out in accordance with Türkiye's rights and obligations arising from international treaties, Bahçeli said, "The fact that the Cyprus Peace Operation brought peace and stability not only to the Turkish Cypriot but to the entire island is an undeniable reality of the calm that has lasted for over half a century, no matter how difficult it is for the Greek-Cypriot mentality and their patrons to digest."

Stating that those who question the presence of the Turkish soldier on the island consciously ignore the attacks and atrocities experienced before the operation, Bahçeli said, "The presence of the Turkish soldier on the island is the sole guarantee of the deterrence that prevents new attacks, the security of the Turkish Cypriot, and the climate of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean."

"THE WILL THAT WILL DETERMINE THE DIRECTION OF THE TURKISH CYPRIOTS IS NOT IN BRUSSELS"

Reacting to the 2025 Türkiye Report adopted by the European Parliament on June 17, 2026, Bahçeli stated that the report reveals Europe's biased stance on the Cyprus issue and that it is under the influence of Greek-Cypriot theses.

Expressing that the Turkish Cypriot people are defined in the report not as a sovereign people but as a "legitimate community" of the island, and that the exhausted federation model is imposed as the only solution option, Bahçeli noted the following:

"The will that will determine the direction of the Turkish Cypriots is not in Brussels! This will lies in the position that the mujahideen of the Turkish Resistance Organization did not abandon for years, in the island's soil watered by the blood of our martyrs, in the determined intervention of the Republic of Türkiye in Cyprus, and in the power of the Turkish Cypriots who founded the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."

Bahçeli stated that the assessments of the European Parliament, which assigns a minority status to Turkish Cypriots, targets Türkiye's legitimate presence on the island, and is uncomfortable with the relations the TRNC has developed with the Organization of Turkic States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, are "politically flawed and invalid."

"FEDERATION DREAMS ARE STALE"

Arguing that the federation model aims to make Turkish Cypriots subject to Greek-Cypriot administration, Bahçeli said, "Federation dreams, which have been put into circulation for years with different names and packaging, but which essentially aim to make the Turkish Cypriot an element subject to Greek-Cypriot administration, are stale."

Emphasizing that no approach that ignores the acquired rights and sovereign and equal status of Turkish Cypriots can serve a fair and lasting solution, Bahçeli continued:

"Just as it is unthinkable for the Turkish Cypriot to submit to minority status under Greek-Cypriot administration, the confirmation and registration of their sovereign equality is an urgent right and a historical responsibility. The unconditional acceptance of the existence of two separate states in Cyprus, closing the matter to debate, and the registration of the international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the eyes of other states is the only key to lasting peace."

Bahçeli celebrated the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation and the July 20 Peace and Freedom Day, and commemorated the Founding President of the TRNC, Rauf Denktaş, the martyrs, and the veterans who have passed away.

Commemorating the Prime Minister of the time, Bülent Ecevit, and Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who made the decision for the operation, with mercy and gratitude, Bahçeli said, "I offer my gratitude to our glorious Turkish Armed Forces, who carried this decision to victory on the field with unparalleled heroism and love for the homeland. Cyprus is Turkish, it is the original homeland of the Turk, and it will remain Turkish forever."

News Source: İHA